Personality
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
A woman in Niagara Falls drove her drove a car into a hotel swimming pool – which is at least safer than going over the waterfalls in a wooden barrel. Beloved New York City owl Flaco was perfectly safe inside the Central Park Zoo, though he only captured the city’s heart once he escaped his enclosure. Unfortunately, Manhattan proved to be a dangerous place for a Eurasian eagle-owl, and Flaco later suffered a fatal crash with an Upper West Side high-rise. But New York does know how to keep one group protected: incumbents. The highly-anticipated release of new congressional maps this week was surprisingly anti-climactic, with most members of the state’s congressional delegation remaining safe in their current seats.
Letitia James -
Letitia James knows how the sausage is made. Fresh off wins against the National Rifle Association and former President Donald Trump, the New York State Attorney General is now suing beef producer JBS for allegedly lying about its fossil fuel emissions. Even some Republicans can’t help but support her; Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Sapraicone’s security firm donated $1,000 to James’ 2022 reelection campaign, which led angry Trump supporters to demand he be stripped of the GOP nomination.
Robert Mujica -
He may be gone, but Robert Mujica is certainly not forgotten in the halls of Albany. He left his position as budget czar in 2023 in order to become the highly-paid executive director of the Financial Oversight And Management Board for Puerto Rico. That hasn’t stopped him from getting paid even more to advise the Greater New York Hospital Association on the state budget, despite the ethical questions that raises. Mujica maintains it’s all above board, so he can continue getting paid for all his sweet insider knowledge of government.
Jamaal Bowman, Tom Suozzi -
Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Tom Suozzi were two of the happier onlookers after the state Legislature approved a new, yet strikingly similar, congressional map. After the tweaks made in Albany, Bowman saw the return of his beloved Co-op City into the 16th Congressional District. The newly sworn in Suozzi saw the 3rd Congressional District drawn a bit more favorably to him, which could be a boon come November. When it comes to a reelection bid, every little bit helps.
Nate McMurray -
Former Grand Island Supervisor Nate McMurray almost won a congressional seat in 2018. Then he lost two congressional races in 2020. This year, he’s not even on the ballot in April’s special congressional election. Instead, he’s defending his wardrobe while his war with Erie County Democratic Chair Jeremy Zellner goes to DEFCON 1. Zellner called McMurray “MAGA”, while McMurray says the Trumps actually compared him to AOC. McMurray still plans to run in June’s Democratic primary and accused Zellner of sleeping “till-noon” and being upset that McMurray doesn’t wear polyester suits.
Winnie Greco -
Winnie Greco, a top aide and fundraiser for Mayor Eric Adams, was placed on leave after a Bronx home she owns was raided by the FBI. While Greco is already the subject of a city Department of Investigation probe over whether she tried to access perks through her job, it’s unclear at this point whether the raid is tied to that particular investigation. At least Greco is in good company; two of Adams’ other aides have also had their homes raided by the FBI.
Brandon Williams -
The newly enacted congressional lines didn’t change a lot, leaving the partisan makeup of many districts in place, even for incumbent Republicans – with one major exception. That exception was Republican Rep. Brandon Williams, who saw his already blue-leaning district become even more Democratic. It was the rare explicit boon for Democrats, who most opted against heavy-handed partisan redistricting this time around. Some of Williams’ Republican colleagues even saw their districts get slightly redder, but he was not so lucky.
NEXT STORY: This week’s biggest Winners & Losers